Brookstone Kicks Off Holiday Season with Parrot AR.Drone Event on Black Friday

MERRIMACK, N.H., Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookstone, the nation's leading gift retailer, announced its plans for its 2010 Black Friday Holiday Season kick-off. The company will host an interactive Parrot AR.Drone Flight School Event Friday, November 26, at the Fashion Centre Mall in Pentagon City, Arlington, VA. This event will let eager AR.Drone fans pilot the flying video game for themselves—and the first 10 people to buy an AR.Drone at this event will receive an Apple iPod touch® MP3 player. Brookstone also announced hot gift trends for 2010 and an expansion of its seasonal store lineup.

AR.Drone Flight School—Plus iPod touch Giveaway

Brookstone, the only brick-and-mortar retailer where shoppers can see the AR.Drone fly, is teaming up with Parrot, the creators of the AR.Drone, to give consumers their first hands-on training as well as offer expert flight demonstrations. This Black Friday Event will take place at the Fashion Centre Mall, Pentagon City, and run from 5:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Fans are advised to arrive early to buy one of the first 10 AR.Drones and receive a free iPod touch player.

Hot Trends and Top 5 Gifts for 2010

Brookstone is seeing a strong attraction to several key product categories among customers who shop the retailer for unique gifts and new technology. Hot gift trends include products that embrace mobile technology, have a high "wow" factor, are germ-busters, and address massage & wellness needs.

As demand for products that interact with Apple devices continues to grow rapidly and sales surge for fun and interactive products, Brookstone CEO Ron Boire predicted the top five must-have gifts for the 2010 season. They are the Parrot AR.Drone Wi-Fi Quadricopter, ePad Laptop Desk with Speakers, CandyMan Motion-Activated Candy Dispenser, OSIM uAstro Zero-Gravity Massage Chair and the Clear Harmony Active Noise Cancelling Headphones.

Top gifts are available at Brookstone retail stores as well as at Brookstone.com.

Adding New Stores for the Holiday 2010 Season

With more than 450 stores open this quarter, Brookstone announced it is increasing its seasonal sales positions by 36% over last year. "Obviously, this is a win-win for everyone," said Boire. "By adding these additional seasonal stores and kiosks, customers will enjoy faster, easier access to Brookstone holiday gifts, and Brookstone gets to add jobs to cities all across the U.S. Yes, we're bullish on the holiday this year, and yes, we're hiring!"

About Brookstone

Brookstone, Inc., is an innovative product development company and specialty retailer of unique gifts. Brookstone operates 310 stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico. Typically located in high-traffic regional shopping malls and airports, the stores feature unique and innovative consumer products. The Company also operates a Direct Marketing business that includes the Brookstone catalog and an e-commerce Web site at Brookstone.com. Fans of the Company are encouraged to Like Brookstone on Facebook.

*iPod touch is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Clear Harmony is a trademark of Able Planet, Inc.

SOURCE Brookstone, Inc.